IERNA's Heating & Cooling Blog : Archive for February, 2015

As we head out of winter toward spring, now is the ideal time to assess whether or not your current AC system in Tampa needs replacement. There are a number of factors to review when considering the replacement of your existing air conditioner, and of course, you can always (and should) seek the assistance of an Ierna’s Heating & Cooling expert to help you determine whether or not it’s time to install a new AC. What are some factors to consider? Here are a few examples:

Your current air conditioner uses R-22 refrigerant (Freon) – as you may very well know, R-22 refrigerant, better known by its brand name Freon, is being permanently phased out. In fact, Freon will no longer be produced at all by 2020, even for repairs. As such, if your current AC uses Freon, you will have to replace your system in the imminent future anyway. Why wait until the last minute? Get ahead of the crowd and help lower your repair costs by scheduling replacement now.

Your AC is more than ten years old – there are two reasons why the decade mark is important for an air conditioner: first, the average lifespan of a traditional air conditioner is 10-12 years, and second, the federal laws regarding SEER ratings were updated in 2006, which can mean you are operating a system that is not very energy efficient. High age and low energy efficiency can have a negative impact on your overall AC costs, so it is worthwhile to see how a replacement system can help improve your AC costs.

You have dealt with, or are facing, multiple repairs – reliability is a need with any whole-home system. If your AC has become unreliable and as a result, has needed multiple repairs or needs multiple repairs to keep running, you money may be better spent on a reliable, new system.

Replacing an existing AC system is a big undertaking, and the air conditioning professionals of Ierna’s Heating & Cooling are here to help you with every step of the process. Call us today and schedule an appointment for AC system replacement for your Tampa home!

Zone control systems are great for conserving energy and achieving customized comfort throughout your home, but occasionally the system can encounter problems. Should a problem develop with your zone control system, it’s best to call an expert for help as the mechanized damper system can be complex. The expert’s at Ierna’s Heating & Cooling have been installing and repairing zone control systems for over 10 years, and we bring this experience to every zone control system repair we have, including the New Port Richey area.

How a Zone Control System Works

Zone control systems are actually a series of dampers installed directly into your supply ducts. Once you and your technician have established the zones in your home, the technician will install the dampers according to the zone plan. The dampers are wired to a main control panel to which each zone’s thermostat is also wired. The main control panel can then maintain each zone’s set temperature by controlling the opening and closing of each damper.

Type of Problems

Here are some of the kinds of problems that can develop with a zone control system:

Problems with a zone thermostat – thermostats can malfunction due to dust and dirt on the instrumentation, incorrect calibration or dying batteries. Thermostats should always be the first place to look when encountering problems with your zone system as thermostats are the control centers for each zone.

Problems with the dampers – sometimes the dampers of the motorized damper component can become stuck, prohibiting the damper from opening and closing as needed. A technician will know how to get into your supply ductwork to determine and repair the problematic damper.

Problems with the main control panel – the main control panel in the system is responsible for taking the information from each zone’s thermostat and controlling the operation of the dampers so that the set temperatures can be maintained. Should there be issues with wiring, electricity or anything else that can interfere with the correct operation of the control panel, problems will likely develop with the system.

As you can see, there is a level of complication to a zone control system, which is why hiring an expert for your zone control system repair in New Port Richey is always the best option.

Hollywood has always tried to match movies up to the seasons to draw droves of viewers to the theaters: October is packed with fright-offerings, while the winter holidays skew toward warm and pleasing family films (as well as Oscar hopefuls). Valentine’s Day falls in an odd spot when it comes to the movie release calendar, however, since February tends to be a slower time for the film industry. The studios are as likely to slot strange movies that don’t fit anywhere else in their annual schedules into the Valentine’s Day weekend as they are films with powerful romantic appeal.

So, while the second weekend of February has featured hugely successful romantic comedies like Hitch, The Wedding Singer, and (of course) Valentine’s Day, some truly weird choices have debuted in this weekend as well. And a few have even gone on to tremendous success despite the bizarre match with the holiday. Here are a couple of the odder Valentine’s Day movie releases:

Dracula (1931): Yes, this Halloween perennial and the start of Universal Studio’s Classic Monsters actually came out on Valentine’s Day! But perhaps this makes some sense, as the Dracula legend has often received a “doomed lover” approach in the many years since Bela Lugosi made the aristocratic vampire a screen icon.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Does any film seem less appropriate for Valentine’s Day than this unnerving and sometimes very violent psychological thriller? What’s even more astonishing than the film’s release date is that The Silence of the Lambs eventually nabbed the Oscar for Best Picture, an almost unheard of occurrence for a movie released so early in the year.

Daredevil (2003): This Marvel comic adaptation featuring Ben Affleck as a blind superhero does contain a romantic subplot, but the stronger connection to Valentine’s Day may just be that Daredevil wears a bright red costume.

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): The least successful of the Die Hard film franchise, this is an excellent example of a studio dropping a film into a weekend where it doesn’t fit in the hopes that it works as counter-programming. (It didn’t.)

Wayne’s World (1992): Now here is an example of counter-programming that clicked with audiences. This comedy based on a Saturday Night Live sketch turned into one of that year’s biggest hits and spawned a sequel.

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day with a trip to the movie theater, or you have your own special plans, everyone here at Ierna Heating & Cooling hopes you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend.

Before warm or cool air moves into your home from the heating or air conditioning system, it first traverses through a set of ducts that should provide a clear and efficient pathway through which air can travel—in theory. Unfortunately, these ducts aren’t always designed as well as they could be. Sometimes, installation flaws account for air leaks or allow heat to escape or enter the ducts undesirably. But a duct system may also develop leaks over time due to the pressure of the air it contains every day.

Now, don’t think that this is a rare occurrence that only happens in some households. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, most duct systems have major or minor leaks and flaws that account for an estimated 30% heating and cooling loss in the typical home. Any duct system can run into trouble over time, and it’s actually likely that yours is causing some issues of which you are unaware. Thankfully, you can schedule duct testing with a trained professional who can determine whether there are weak points in your ducts, the exact location of leaks, and what should be done about it.

When ducts leak air, it affects multiple areas of your home and your daily life. For one, a leaky duct system keeps you less comfortable. There are likely to be hot and cold spots around the home and your HVAC system will take longer to get the entire home to the right temperature. You’re less likely to notice the difference if the leak has progressed slowly over time (or if it’s always been there), but you may be spending hundreds more on heating and air conditioning every year than you would without any leaks at all. Furthermore, your HVAC system is working way harder than it should have to, which could mean that parts of your HVAC system will fail too soon if your duct system doesn’t receive attention.

Duct testing includes a thorough examination of your ductwork. Testing may include high-tech viewing and recording equipment, air pressure tests, and possibly a look at your HVAC equipment to determine how your ductwork may contribute to irregularities. Experts will then recommend services to correct the problem areas, including duct sealing, repairs, or even a bit of design work.